1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the electronic generation of one or more numbers in a chance-related manner. More specifically, the invention relates to number generation by an electronic clock or counter with selective controls for initiating and terminating operation of the counter, i.e., the “counting” operation, as well as means for selecting the range or set from which numbers are to be selected, and the number of selections to be made, i.e., how many numbers will be generated to form the required number set. The invention further relates to various schemes for varying the counting rate.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generation of numbers in a random manner is virtually as old as the concept of numbers itself. The chance selection of one or more numbers is often made the subject of a game with rules related to the significance of the selected number(s). For example, the flipping of a coin or casting of one or more dice, if performed in a manner which precludes conscious manipulation of the outcome, yields what may be termed a chance-generated result. In fact, it is the very randomness of the numeric selection process, i.e., the practical impossibility of predicting the outcome of an individual selection transaction, that defines number-related gaming or gambling. At least, this is the case for the individual or short term sequence of random number selection, ignoring the application of probability theory (the “law of averages”) after many repetitions of the operation.
Although sweepstakes or lottery games have been in practice for centuries, their widespread adoption by governmental bodies in the United States (primarily at the state level) has been quite recent. There are at present some 37 states, plus the District of Columbia, offering a total of more than 175 number-selection lottery games, some 55 of which may be said to be unique (the others simply being repeated in a plurality of states). The games wherein preselected numbers, symbols, or other devices are printed on cards and revealed only after the player has purchased the card are not within the scope of the invention, only those games which involve prediction by the player of number(s) to be subsequently selected in a random manner.
Of course, every player has his or her favorite way of predicting the numbers which will be randomly selected in the manner prescribed by the particular lottery operation. Some players prefer to select the numbers in an essentially random manner, much like the way in which the winning numbers are selected. To this end, there are numerous random number generators available which operate electronically while remaining simple and inexpensive enough to appeal to a mass market. Typically, the user manipulates a switch to initiate operation of a clock, i.e., an electronic counter with a fixed counting rate, typically from several thousand to over a million numbers per second depending on the particular components chosen by the manufacturer of the device. After a time interval which is also a function of the electronic components, cycling stops and the number present in the counter at that instant is displayed and/or stored in the device. The process is repeated until the desired quantity of numbers has been selected. The duration of the time interval is intentionally established electronically in a manner which is imprecise with respect to the counting rate so that the counter does not stop at the same number for each repetition. However, the counter stops and the number is selected, at each repetition, under control of the built-in electronics and not the user. Additionally, these numbers can, and often are, generated mathematically using algorithms known as pseudo-random number generators. These also are not subject to user control.